Rise Of Inspiration
by Cybroid
Summary: After the battle of the Golden Gate Bridge, much grief is among the cheering joy of the victory. And for one group there in the midst of it, it's all they feel.
1. Sacrifice

**This story was asked to be done by a fellow author who won't be named (Since I forgot to ask if he wants to be named. If he does, I will change this). So any thanks on the idea can go to him. Otherwise, enjoy!**

* * *

It should have been a moment of joy. A moment to rejoice. To cheer about with friends, and share a drink over back at home base. But for those who were on the frontline, there was something else. It was also a time for mourning lost brothers in arms. The sacrifices made on the bridge, to push the enemy back. Especially the final sacrifice of our comrade, Connor Morgan. A brave soul to the end, who never stopped fighting. Even in the face of death, he stood in the way to save his friends. Us. Three people. Two he had known for some time. But the third, he had only met a week before. Me, Robert Jacobs. We stood by him till the end.

As the smoke rose from the metal burning coffins that once were the KPA vehicle counterattack, the soldiers on the bridge cheered. But us three did not. We ran in there, calling out his name. Looking everywhere for him. Though none of us were as distraught as Rianna. Her wide eyes searched through all the wreckages, along the side of the bridge. Her mouth stretching open as she basically screamed his name, over and over. Tears threatened to stream down her tan face from her dark brown eyes. She was the most caring of us, so this was expected.

"Connor! Connor!" Yet it still pained my heart to see her like this. The third member of our party was not appealing to many of our allies, mostly due to his ethnic origin. Despite his similar appearance to those who invaded America, he was good-willed and cared for his friends. Even if that meant standing against those he once lived with. His green cap shadowed his face, although I could still see the grief in his face. He went over solemnly to the shouting woman, and put a hand to her shoulder. She did not hesitate to fall into his arms as he hugged her for comfort. I could read his lips, saying 'We will find him. We will find him' over and over. But I knew that if we did, he would not be alive. No one could ever have survived a missile strike that close. He would be dead.

I peered over my shoulder to see the military men standing on the gun platform. Some of them cheered, throwing their helmets and hands up. However, a few of them did not. Instead, they watched us search, sorrow visible in their faces. This search had to end. For our own sakes, and especially Rianna. The stress would be too much for her.

I walked over to her while still pretending to search. Even though inside I still wanted to actually hope that he was still alive. They had done so much together in such little time. Escaped a prison bus, tagged a fuel truck, broke through the wall of Montrose, stole a helicopter from a rogue group of survivors, captured the fuel trucks, and lastly aided in taking the Golden gate bridge. They had lost so much along the way as well. The destruction of the Oasis and the death of them, the death of Boone, the bombings across Montrose. All of it would have been too much for many people, and they survived that. Only for one of them to die.

Jets above drowned out the cheering. Gave me the chance to speak to her openly, and have none of the troops hear it. I sent Hopper a look that he completely understood, and he ambled off, scanning the road of the bridge. Once he was far enough away, I put a hand on Rianna's shoulder. She was using her hand to lean on a destroyed wreck of a vehicle. I was surprised her hand wasn't burning at all, since it had recently exploded.

I said the only I could think. And possibly the worst. "He's gone, Rianna." _Bluntly_. She moved her gaze onto me. With glassy teared eyes looking at me in disbelief. Already I knew what she wanted to say. And I wish I could say the same.

"No. He isn't! He's a planner! He thinks things through, and he always made it out!" The pain in my chest burned more. The weight felt heavier. "He's here somewhere. Maybe he went over the side! Like you did!"

I sighed aloud. "Rianna.."

"Jacobs, he is alive! We just have to search the water! He's down there, I-"

"Rianna!" I seized her shoulders, spinning her to face me. Tears continued to spring to her eyes. "I know it might not feel right, but he's gone. Okay, he's gone." I let out a sigh, letting my head hang low on my shoulders. It was depressing to see a friend die, especially if that friend saved your life. A heavy weight was left on my shoulders, taunting me with how I could have done something different. How I could have been the one to go. But it was just too late.

Yet the alerted voice of Hopper gave hope. "I found something! It looks like him!" Rianna and I had run over, coming to a halt with gleaming hopes. There was his army, with that brown glove he wore. However, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw how charred the skin of his wrist was. Cracked and red, little rivers of blood leaking down the wrist. I noticed that Hopper did as well. We could only picture what lay beneath.

And when Rianna uncovered the rubble, one of her hands flew up to her mouth in pain, staring in disbelief. His body was nothing but a charred corpse. His chest no longer moved, his serious eyes were never open again. And yet, from what we could recognize on his face, he went out with a grin. He knew what he was doing. Hopper knelt by her side, comforting the tan woman while I stood by, wordless and motionless. After a short moment, I knelt down beside the body and closed his hand around the badge he held.


	2. Final Respects

Day soon became night. Dark clouds loomed overhead, blocking the starlight above. Occasionally the sky would light up from the ongoing firefights in San Francisco. Explosions replaced the thunder and and lightning, creating the feel of a storm. Jets fly through the sky, leaving streams of jet exhaust behind them. Artillery fire continued to hammer both sides of Red Gate bridge, leaving nothing but ruin, rubble and ash. From across the bridge, no screams were heard. Nothing to signify the terror and pain across the water. So much wreckage across the long bridge, being what is left of last week's battle. So many losses had been taken in that fight. So much blood spilt, all for one city. And we only had one to blame for it all. The KPA. They started this war, which we were going to finish. We would destroy them, or we would force them out.

But that was not what my thoughts rested on as I sat by a small fire. Several others sat around; Marines, pilots and even some civilians. Mingling. This war had brought us together. Hopper sat on a log benches the men had chopped down earlier, everyone else edged away from the Korean. I could understand why, with most of the enemy being Korean themselves. Really showed how war brings out the worst in people. Yet in some cases, it brought out the best. Brings out how much people care for one another, enough to protect each other.

Only one missing from our little group we had going is Rianna. She had taken a large emotional beating from the loss of our friend. It was taking a toll on the team as well with how she acted. I could tell that she was getting distant from us, that we were falling apart. My heart ached from time to time because of this. Just remembering what happened. _Connor. Killed in action._ Just thinking that brought back the last memory of us seeing him.

 _Our team leader running out, flare in hand. Yelling out the radio he had. A missile from above, and a convoy heading right for us. In mere seconds, it was over. The missile hit it's mark, destroying the convoy. And with it, a hero. A natural-born leader._

Sounds of chopper blades cutting through the air with tremendous speed drew my attention to the present, away from that memory. I found that one of the soldier's constantly glanced over at me in sympathy, but with some curiosity and pity as well. In return I gave a questioning glare of my own, and he soon stopped. Whatever thoughts he had he would have to keep to himself. When the other soldier looked away, I sighed to myself, resting my face in one of my hands.

After a small moment of thought I went back into scooping out the crude stew I had. Better food was needed for the civilians since they had suffered more than us. Having lost their homes to this war and family members. And not all of them had even arrived as of yet, some still trapped on the other side of the large bridge. Explosions was enough to reveal everything that was happening over there. From here, I could see silhouettes of towers falling and crumbling into rubble. I could imagine the cries. All the cries of sadness, pain and-

"Hey, you Jacobs?!" My hands froze with a spoonful then glanced up. It was one of the other soldiers. Not the one that had been giving me glances. I gave no answer, and went back to eating instead. Instead, someone else answered. The one sitting alone, _Hopper_. If I didn't know what the kid had gone through so much, I would have ridiculed him. There was some more small talk, though I did my best to ignore it. Only focusing on what was to come the next day.

A funeral, after having found the body of Connor. And we were going to bury him just before the bridge, in memory of his final act. Not only for us to remember, but all others that came by. And when this war was to come to an end, a memorial for all those to see after. He sighed once more, then took another spoonful into his mouth, enjoying the warmth of the stew as best he could. Hardest thing would be to see Rianna. She had been close to Connor, and even though I did not know how close, I knew that they weren't just acquaintances.

I soon finished my meal. Yet after I remained while still holding my bowl in hand and a spoon in the other. I remembered how so long ago before this war I used to watch films, play video games about war. But one thing I learned to realise while being a military pilot before this war is that one doesn't know war until they themselves experience it.

And I had experienced it, the worst in this battle for US soil. This world we once knew truly was falling apart. No matter how much we fought back, they would push back harder. It was by some miracle we hadn't fallen apart as of yet.

As I watched, I noticed a bright flash of light followed by a thundering rumble. Whatever that was, it was close. Looking over, I saw that the explosion was right on the other side of Red Gate bridge. _Too close_ for comfort. This night was going to be long and only get worse for us. Something was coming. A storm. Not the natural kind. Finally, I stood up and left to find a place to sleep for this night.

* * *

The next day a literal storm had decided to show up, showering us. Everyone came by to pay respects on our side of the bridge to those lost in the battle of the Red Gate bridge. No fires burned, thanks to the storm's light rain and winds. No thunder came, nor any lightning came to streak across grey clouds.

By my left stood Hopper, his head bowed and hands clasped in front of him as a sign of respect. A single tear ran down his cheek. Rianna off to my left had been silently weeping with her cheeks wet from both the rain and tears. With nothing formal to wear, we all wore our casual outfits. Hopper had his green cap and blue T-shirt over his long sleeved shirt that had red, blue and white stripes along them. Green jeans cover his legs. On his face he wore a mournful look. Rianna had her hair flowing out unlike she normally did. Her red shirt grew damp under her tactical vest, as did her dark pants.

As for me, I wore black gloves with the ends cut off, a brown jacket and camo pants. It was easy to pick out who were the soldiers by name and who were the resistance fighters. Rain ran through my hair and down my outfit, drenching both. But I paid no attention to the weather. I instead stared at one of the signs made just before the funeral, a name etched into it. _Connor Morgan._ That name would stick with me forever. I just knew it.

Soon, I couldn't bear it anymore. I may have appeared heartless to some of the troops by leaving just moments after the ceremony started, but the truth was I couldn't bear to be seen in such an emotional state. Not in front of them. There was a war to be fought, and I had to remain strong.

I took a stroll over to one of the buildings and found some metal chairs folded out. The entire room was empty, save for one uniformed personnel at a radio tuning the device from time to time. I sat in silence for a few seconds. Then my face fell into my hands. I wanted to let out a cry of frustration. _'Why did Connor have to go out there and die?!'_ I had thought to myself. _'He was the leader...We're tearing ourselves apart.'_ I remained in my thoughts until someone's voice filled with urgency and panic.

" Wilkins, who's firing?! What's going on?!" I looked up from my hands to the radio operator. Even though their back was to me, I could tell they were distressed. "Wilkins! Fall back! Do you hear me?! Fall-" The operator cut short, and I could hear why. A loud grinding screech came through the radio, accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream. Then dead silence. "Wilkins...Are you there...Fuck!" the operator shouted after slamming a fist against the desk. Whatever had happened, it wasn't good.

I heard footsteps coming in through the door, and spotted almost everyone in the doorway with curious and anxious faces. The operator turned on his chair, his face grave.

"Charlie Company...they're gone. All of them." Everyone was thrown into a stunned silence. What could take out an entire company? Our answer came soon after.

"What happened?" One of the officers questioned, going over to give a supportive hand on the operator's shoulder. Poor guy. he had just listened to a bunch of people dying.

"They...he spoke of...metal monsters."

* * *

 **So that's the second chapter. And I should mention that the request and main plot idea came for this came from a fellow author, ResistTheEmpire. He has done a couple of works, one being a well done collab with a friend of his.**

 **And for those who read my main Homefront story, you can guess what's about to come. And warning, graphic content in the next chapter.**


	3. Monsters In The Dark

I watched from afar as a team of twenty US Marines, Rangers and other soldiers readying themselves for their trek across the bridge and into the city. Something was over there, and it had wiped out an entire company. The screams over the radio still rang around in my head. At least thirty men, dead.

Along with the team stood Hopper. A fellow trooper had been helping him with his gear while he talked, explaining his theories on whatever they were about to face was across the bridge. The marine just nodded, more focused on the vest he was putting on Hopper instead of his talking. I could hear snippets here and there, some of it being quite interesting to me.

Truthfully, I was worried about him. Yes, he knew where to put his hands on a rifle and how to take out a target, but he worked best when not under pressure and with familiar faces. And considering that their target had taken out an entire company, that made things worse. Much worse. This was bad news, for all of us.

Rianna sat not too far off, watching them prepare as well. She had done some talking with Hopper earlier, wishing him the best. An improvement, to see her talking once more. Today, she wore a brown jacket over her red undershirt. The jacket looked familiar. Then I realised it. It was _Connor's_. Not sure why she was wearing it, but I could guess that Connor would have been okay with it. Since he didn't need any further use of his jacket, but I didn't want to think like that. Although, I assumed it was also for her comfort, to help get over his sudden passing.

As I looked, I couldn't help but admire her in some way. Despite her depressed feelings and possibly odd food consumption, even though foods are running low, she seemed as if she had been doing well. Perhaps even become slimmer although that would have easily been explained by odd food habits if she had any.

My thoughts were disturbed by a rumble of an engine. My gaze turned to the convoy of three humvees and two transport trucks. Two humvees at the front, one at the back. Each humvee was armed with a minigun, except the second which had an MK19 mounted grenade launcher. The troops start to filed into the backs of the trucks two at a time.

As much as I wanted to go with them, I felt that I should stay here instead to watch over Rianna. Besides, those Marines and Rangers could protect Hopper, right? That's what I had thought. I watched as the convoy started to roll forward slowly toward a boomgate. The gate guard began lifting the gate, then the convoy headed on through. It wasn't long before they were gone down into the distance.

I stood up and walked over to the radio building. If anything were to go wrong, I would hear about it. Yet I was intercepted by a familiar face. A fully-geared soldier.

"Jacobs. A word?" Sergeant Keyes asked. I nodded, following him as he led me through the camp. He stopped around a corner, out of Rianna's sight. "How is she doing?"

"She's doing well." I knew who 'she' was. Rianna. "Why?" I asked back curiously.

"If she isn't in top shape..I'm sorry, but she may not be able to fight anymore." He looked back around the corner. "I've seen others like this. They break down in a fight." I nodded in agreement, knowing that it would be for her own good. And I also believed that there was more to this little chat of ours. "I need to know, who will lead your team now?"

I put a hand to my chin, thinking. That indeed was a mystery. With both Boone and Connor gone, who would lead? My first suggestion would have been Rianna, but she seemed too...unstable. Even with her improvements. And Hopper, well Hopper was young. Not too experienced as a leader. He was more like the 'nerd kid' of the group. After my long hesitation, an answer came. Not one I was absolutely sure of, but it was the only option I could think of.

"I don't think the team can hold together for much longer. I mean, it is just three of us. One of us is young, and the other is taking things hard...I'm sorry, but I don't think we will be doing any more missions after this." I turned to leave, a regretful face on. Was it the right thing to do, to say that we were out without the consent of the others?

As I headed to enter the radio building, I gave one last glance at Rianna. She still sat alone, holding a pair of gloves in hand. I sighed, shaking my head in despair. I wished to comfort her, but decided to leave her be. She needed some alone time.

Inside multiple people gathered around a table with a map on it, pointing at markings around the map of San Francisco. A radio-operator occasionally glanced up at them from time to time while listening to multiple companies do their work. I chose to sit in a chair next to him, but not before making sure he was fine with it. Upon approaching, I realised he was the same operator from before. I imagined he would still be uneasy from what happened half an hour ago.

We must have listened for at least forty minutes before I dozed off. In my sleep, I pictured the Golden Gate bridge covered in fire and smoldering wreckage. Bodies strewn about. Bullets and missiles going from both ends. Then there was the platform halfway across. Two large guns were placed on top, firing at any aircraft that dared to come close. KPA aircraft. We defended that platform, firing at any KPA soldier that came our way. Then the scene changed to us being in a light-armor vehicle, being chased down by a Goliath. Then to after the crash. Connor running out, flare in hand. Before the explosion, my dream ended, pulling me back to reality.

Crackles were coming through the radio. Half-formed words. I managed to piece some of what I heard together.

"Fou...destroyed..torn to...blood everyw..." A long pause followed. Before _it_ happened. This time more clearer. "Where's Jameson? And...What th...Open fire! Get down!...Kowalski, left s...What are those things?!..." Gunfire could be heard on our end, followed by shouts of pure terror and fright accompanied by blood-curdling screams. Metallic scrapes and the sound of blood spilling made me sick in the stomach, imagining metal monsters ripping them apart. I wanted to shout back, tell them to get out of there. To get Hopper out of there. To think that he was in that mess made me fear for his life.

"Fuck! Kowalski!...Fal...Fall back!...Fuck! More behind u...AHHH!" At that point, it cut off. Right after a slicing sound. Nothing was left to be heard except a crackling hiss.

I sat there in shock. The radio-operator continued to shout into the microphone, trying to get a hold of them. Anything at all, even if it meant just a couple words. Anything to say they still lived. Yet nothing came. I couldn't bear to listen any longer, and ran out. Imagining them being torn apart made me more sick. I felt bile wanting to rise up my throat.

One of the men inside the building raced out, going to find someone to report to. This was all going south for us. The soldier came running back, with Keyes and several others in tow.

Several minutes later, I'm gearing up. Although I had trouble with my vest, and by giving a quick glance around, no one else could help. They were already working on themselves. But before I could even ask, I felt a tug at my shoulder as someone readjusted the slipping vest. I turned my head in surprise.

"You looked like you were having trouble" Rianna answered to my unasked question. I shrugged, letting her go ahead while I fixed up my pouches. She hadn't shown much kindness to anyone around that time, making me feel especially thankful for her help, even though it was one small act. Though I kept my gaze off her, afraid to see the sadness in her eyes.

"Thanks" I murmured gratefully, taking a mag into one of my pouches. Rianna went around to the other side to start tightening some straps around there. I sent a short glimpse at her, catching sight of her sorrowed gaze. I could guess what she was guessing from the worry in her eyes. "I'll get Hopper back. I promise." Her hands froze in position.

"Just..don't die. Either of you...You are all I have left." I turned to face her, then put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She stared up into my gaze.

"I _promise_."

"You better...And I'll be there to make sure." It took only a second look over her to find out what she meant. Underneath the brown jacket was a tactical vest and a belt. An M9 pistol holstered at her side. I wanted to argue, but knowing her there was no convincing. I moved over to a table that the other's of our team had left. A couple weapons were left, and I chose a scoped M16 and a Five-Seven. Rianna took up a Diablo-SMG. With a nod of my head after grabbing a couple of grenades, we moved over to where our team gathered up. Twenty other men all geared up. Sergeant Keyes stood at the front of the group.

"Everyone here?" He looked over and did a head count, pausing at Rianna before going on. "Okay. Listen up! We managed to receive some visuals from the recon team! Now, we did not get much of a look, but we believe we are facing some kind of drones! So everyone take up an EMP grenade!" He motioned to an open duffel bag in the back of one of the trucks. Everyone moved forward and collected an EMP grenade inside, taking one each. "We don't have many so _only_ use in a dire situation or when you have them grouped up! Careful with your shots! We don't know their weaknesses in armor! Now, let's get moving!"

Everyone moved into their assigned vehicles. Our convoy was much like the last, three humvees and two trucks. Once settled in, we went rolling on toward the city.

* * *

Smoke was rising around everywhere. Stench of gunpowder and other things was easy to smell. Other things I much rathered not smell. Every now and then, the truck swerved to avoid destroyed car or a large piece of rubble. That was only a guess, though. For I could not see anything outside past the olive green tarps. And really, I didn't want to. I could easily imagine plenty of the destruction outside.

However, we soon came to a stop. First there was silence. Then a knock against the metal separating the front and back of our truck.

"We got a blockage here!" Keyes nodded, then let the metal tailgate down. Everyone ran out, weapons immediately up upon exiting.

"Left side clear!"

"Right flank clear!" I hopped out, raising my M16 up to my shoulder to scan our surroundings. Rooftops, windows, walls. Any high point they could hit us from. Then I moved the barrel down to the streets. Toppled cars, smoking wreckage of light armor vehicles and some bodies strewn about. Even a couple of shelling craters here and there.

"All clear up here!" someone shouted from the front of the convoy. Keyes nodded and gave a 'stand down' hand signal.

"Alright. Cole, get five men and guard these vehicles. The rest of you, on me!" The rest of us nodded and followed along, watching our flanks and down every alleyway along the way. We continued along the convoy until we reached the front. A couple of cars across the road, blocking any entry from vehicles. It was surprising that Hopper's group managed to get through at all. Something wasn't right. We should have seen the other convoy here. So where were they? Had they gone a different direction? No. Some of these vehicles behind us had been moved recently. And upon closer observation, so had the car blockade. That meant one thing.

But we couldn't let that stop us. Keyes took the lead, and me and Rianna were around the team's middle. Some nervous muttering could be heard from some of the others. And as I looked over to Rianna, I could see she was nervous too.

Ahead, Keyes signalled everyone to halt. Everyone stopped and kneeled down, weapons aiming up and around. He signalled two men forward. They ran over, staying low. As my eyes followed, that's when I spotted what Keyes saw. A humvee. The two men looked around, then waved us over. We stayed low, moving forward. As we approached, something whacked me in the face. The stench of blood. I almost let my guts up at what I saw. Three long, bloodied scratches across the Humvee's left side. Below the door lay someone on their side. I couldn't see who they were, their face unrecognizable. Three deep slashes across their chest.

One of our team knelt down, scanning over them. Then one of their hands grabbed the fallen soldiers dogtags and yanked them off. They murmured a string of swears at seeing the name.

"It's Connor." Another soldier swore, rather loudly. "What the hell did this?"

"That's what we are here to find out" Keyes answered for them. "So let's get up and moving" he ordered, being quieter than usual. Just in case whatever did this lied in wait nearby. Keyes moved everyone forward. I felt tense after seeing that. Imagining Hopper like that. As I took a step to follow, I stopped to see that Rianna had stopped.

"Rianna. We need to move." But she remained still, staring at the body. I hesitated, then grabbed her wrist, expecting a slap to the face. But she gave none. Instead, she followed reluctantly after me. Her face green. She looked like she was going to be sick.

Up ahead, I saw some more. Another body, sprawled across some rubble. Some kind of hook protruding from their chest. Blood leaked from their open mouth, an expression of pain and shock across their face. I heard someone wretch behind us at the site. I felt more fear rise up inside, as well as more bile. This did not bode well at all.

Another two bodies later, and I was ready to just let loose my stomach contents. And indeed I did, when we saw what came next. An overturned Humvee, a truck's front ripped clean off and shredded and tarp on its cargo hold. Pools of oil and blood everywhere. A few unarmed men. Literally unarmed, as in their arms were feet away from them. Some disemboweled troops. Bodies, everywhere. Way too many for just one of the teams. This was where whatever attacked went full out. And we were in that territory. Something I saw made my heart freeze. A green hat, lying next to the overturned Humvee.

I ran over and picked it up. Rianna followed, then swore and punched the Humvee wreckage.

"Fuck! We were so close! I swear, I'll kill whatever did this!" I was about to make a motion to calm her when I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey! Where'd Terry go?" someone called out. I knew where. That flash of movement. That was him. Being pulled into a dark alley. Another scream rang up.

"Weapons up!" Keyes shouted. There was an eerie silence. We waited for something to come out and show itself. But what we got first sent sheer terror through us. A metallic screech, like a howl. After that, it became a bloodbath.

* * *

 **Well, that must be the goriest chapter I've ever written. And the most unsettling. Though I did warn in the past chapter, so if you don't like it...**

 **Yeah. You can probably guess what comes next. Just in case you don't, Warning: Gore and Swearing**


	4. Steel Monsters

Fear had absolute control over me. Now, I've been afraid. When I fell over the side of the Golden Gate Bridge, when we crossed that street being covered by that automated turret, when we came upon the mass graveyard...when we returned to Oasis. These...These things. They instilled fear in everyone. These things, monsters made from metal fought with no remorse, no mercy. No mind.

Right in front of me a large metallic hulking piece metal fell from a rooftop, causing me to stumble back. At first I had believed it to be the wreckage of something. That's because I never believed something such as this could exist. It looked like something from a sci-fi film, something like Michael Bay Transformers. It had a single smallish head, shaped like a large cat with two pointed ends at the back of the head. A large central red eye gazed right at me. On each foot were three long sharp claws, looking as sharp as a sickle. It's limbs were sleek and unarmored, as was most of the rear and it's head. On the back was a large piece of armor. No tail at the back. And no mouth. Instead where it's mouth should have been had it been an animal were two contact tazers, buzzing as if it were in delight to see me on the ground.

The metal beast stalked closer. I imagined a lion stalking it's prey. And me being that prey. I did not know where it came from, but a shrill screech came from the menacing machine before me. Or perhaps it was from the others dropping down. One dropped right on top of a soldier. I saw the claws run right through his shoulders, cutting his arms right off. I felt sick at seeing that. Another soldier, a woman stumbled forward after one pounced her, then began tazing her in the back. More and more soldiers around me fell.

My attention redirected to the one before me. It came close enough my face would have been glowing red from its singular orb. A shot rang out and ricocheted off it's flank, drawing it's attention to the shooter. Another shot went straight through the eye, shattering it in an explosion of glass. I took my chance and took out my pistol, since I had dropped my rifle which was squashed under the robot's weight. Since I had no idea what these things were, you could guess that I fired at any point on them. Well, I did just that. And what a stupid thing that was. They must have had some kind of sensors, or they heard where my shots came from and heard them hitting their armor. Cause at least three of them turned at me and screeched.

I still clearly remember that screeches resembled that of a chainsaw being set upon a metal beam. I put one hand on an ear, my face contorting into one of shrill pain. My head was pounding inside from their metallic screams. Once I regained myself, I did what seemed to be the most sane thought in my head. With one hand still clutching my ear and the other holstering my gun, I ran.

I grabbed Rianna by the arm, who seemed to be frozen in fear. We ran. Others ran too. Morale was broken as at least twenty of those machines poured in over us. Some ran to get cover, away from the onslaught. Others ran to get clear, and never turned back. But all of them were chased down. I could hear one coming after us as I turned down an alley, Rianna stumbling after me with her wrist still firm in my grip.

 _Just keep running. Don't look back._ I repeated those words in my head. Quickly I made a right turn, followed by a sharp left turn. Then we stopped behind a dumpster, waiting for it to pass. It felt so long, and soon it passed by. A quiet sigh of relief escaped my lips before I looked back to Rianna. So much fear was on her face. I swore she was hyperventilating. I'd never seen her breathe so heavily and quickly. I had seen her angry, seen her sad. But afraid, like this? I assumed how she felt, as I was afraid to. I also felt angry towards those things, wishing I hadn't run. Hopper was either dead, or hiding somewhere. We had to find him. He was our friend, for god's sake.

A gasp drew my attention to Rianna, hands quaking in fear and shoulders shaking her head like a bobblehead on the verge of stopping. Slowly I turned my head, rotating slowly on my toes of one foot and heel of the other. And stared right at one of those killer machines, staring right back at us. A shrill screech came from it as it threw back it's head.

"Run, Rianna! Run!" We sprinted down the alley. I heard the machine knock something over behind us. This alley was a lot more clustered, giving us an advantage. Yet it did not last for long. The metal monster soon closed in, from what I could hear. I knew it was right behind me when I felt a sharp pain on one of my legs. Rianna must have heard my shout of pain and surprise, as she turned and drew her pistol to blind the beast with a well placed shot.

The pain shot across my right calf just below my knee. What made it worse was that the closest thing to pull me up was on my right. I reached up to grab the edge of a bin, pulling myself up, only to stumble forward and almost fall over the now-tipped bin. Warm liquid ran down my back. I knew then that the wound was deeper than I thought. Even years later, I still have a little scar there.

Rianna let me go ahead, despite being more scared than I was It felt strange to see her afraid. I'd seen something similar when Hopper had accidentally fired those phosphorous mortar rounds. I knew everyone could be scared, but still, it scared me a little more to see her afraid.

We ducked blindly into a room and Rianna closed the door behind us, then for extra measures tipped a metal cabinet over against it. We stood there, huffing and puffing while holding ourselves up by our knees.

You know how in movies, they chuckle right after a near-death experience? Yeah, not here. I felt like I would pass out at any moment. And I knew she felt the same. My leg pounded, still feeling warm. Putting a hand to check, it came back sticky and wet with warm, red liquid. _Blood._

My legs felt like they were going through an earthquake as I looked down at the ground to see a slick red puddle. Sweat dripped from my brow, splashing against the tiled floor...Wait, tiled floor?

Thinking that, I glanced around. Took note of the multiple sinks, stoves, metal cabinets and the fridge horizontal against the door behind us. This was a kitchen. We had run right into a restaurant kitchen.

I wondered for a moment which restaurant this was. As it were, I didn't need an answer. An eerie silence made me look over at Rianna who was looking around, then her gaze stopped at a gap that led to the tables in the dining area. I swear I could see a tear coming on. She strode slowly over to behind the counter where readied plates would be steaming, ready to be taken to the diners.

"I know this place. I came here as a little girl." I followed, and soon saw why I swore I saw a tear. Chairs and tables strewn about, over turned. Shattered glass. Some of this damage could have been from a recent firefight. Possibly a holding ground for survivors from the machine's attack. My suspicions were confirmed by a hand at a table, one Rianna wouldn't have seen from her angle.

"I can't get distracted" she murmured quietly, pulling out her pistol slowly. I could see her hand still shaking.

We moved over to the door connecting the two rooms. My leg dragged along. I went to a chair that Rianna set up. She still had not noticed the body against the overturned table.

She started looking around, since she didn't have anything for my leg. That's when she found the body. From her covering her mouth in horror, I guessed that whoever they were was not all in one piece. But Rianna was brave. She knelt down, doing her best to ignore whatever gruesome sight she saw and ran her hands through their pockets to find something that could help my leg.

She came back with a small role of bandages. The Hispanic woman knelt by my leg and moved her hands to my leg. I flinched a bit. She glared, which I returned with an apologetic look.

"Hold it still. This might sting a bit." She began wrapping slowly around my leg. A pained sigh escaped past my lips. I tried to suppress any groans of agony or anything overly loud, in case the machines were near. Though once she got halfway, her hand slipped when we both heard a bang. I muffled a pained yell, putting one hand to my mouth. We both looked to the blocked door. And then the fridge moved. Rianna drew her pistol on the door behind the fridge. It had returned.

"Rianna-"

"Shhh." She slowly stood. I held a hand on my still-bleeding leg. Red trickled from the incomplete bandaging. I could feel my hand starting to get sticky as the blood started to dry. There was a lump in my throat as I watched her go through the opening leading to the kitchen. The fridge wobbled again. That was when I noticed something odd. The door hadn't moved. Instead, only the fridge. I was too late to warn as after one last hit against the fridge's door, something tumbled out.

Rianna aimed right at whatever had burst out. And I was about to shout at Rianna to hold her fire, but I think she already saw what it was.

"Hopper!" Rianna exclaimed, louder than we both would have rathered. "God damn it, I almost shot you!" She knelt down and cradled his upper half while looking him over. I tried to walk forward, but my leg ached. So I remained where I was and instead flicked my wrist in a single wave. Rianna was so excited to our old friend alive and well. Except, well there was something amiss. He seemed to be writhing in pain. Blood stains caked one side inside the fridge. When she rolled him over, she saw why. Where his right hand should have been, there was only a stubble of raw flesh and bone covered by a thin bandage. Rianna nearly cried at the sight, and I felt sick picturing what was underneath the thin cloth.

Rianna hefted him up to his feet and helped him over next to me. He had scratches down one side of his face, small but still vulnerable to infection. A gash was seen through a ripped area in his pants. I just couldn't take my eyes off the missing hand. His breathing was rapid, and his eyes closed tight as if he were in a horrible nightmare.

"Hopper, it's us" I murmured as Rianna lightly tapped his face. He murmured something indistinct. Much too quiet to hear. But his shaking hand and trembling lip were signs that he was still in fear. So with a sigh, Rianna raised her hand. And brought it down with a big slap across his face. His mouth opened to scream, but I was quick to cover it as to quiet him.

His eyes now wide open, Hopper looked around and relief washed over his expression. I removed my hand when I saw he had calmed.

"Guys, what are you doing here?"

"We came for you!" Rianna almost cried out, then gave him a hug. "What else did you expect, Hopper?!" This kind of Rianna I found recognizable. The angry yet caring type. He would have earned a slap upside the head if he didn't have so many scratches and was already in pain. I watched Rianna use what was left of the bandages on the roll on Hopper's bleeding arm.

"You shouldn't have. Those things, they almost k- Wait, where is Blake?!" I gave him a quizzical look. Then my eyes widened in realisation, my gaze moving over to the dead man on the table. Rianna told him for me. Hopper's gaze averted to the ground, and he sighed sadly. I knew that he must have saved the young man. I thought of something to cheer him up and took something from my belt. Just before all the chaos outside, I had taken his green cap up and put it on my belt. It was a miracle that the hat stayed there the entire time.

"My hat...Thanks Jacobs." I shrugged.

"It is your hat." I glanced over at the overturned table. From this angle, I could see the hand had no arm to it. Almost made me sick.

"Blake. He saved you?" Hopper nodded solemnly.

"He told me to get into that fridge after he cleaned it out. I thought he would be able to kill them all, but...Well, I guess not." We both sent another glance over. "At least he's at peace now. I just hope he got a quick death." So that explained how he ended up in the fridge before.

From then on it was silence, watching from the windows. We waited for dusk. No one came. Not a thing. None of those machines, no clean up crews. No US Marines coming to save us. Soon, we went to leave. Rianna took up a blood-soaked M16 from the dead marine, who Hopper hated to see dead. I swear he almost cried. Though he did dry heave. I took her pistol. Through the back of the kitchen, we headed out, moving slowly to where we remembered the trucks to be. And we found them, all right.

The canvas on the back with red claw marks torn through them and across the metal side of the truck. One of the Humvees turned over with smoke billowing out from underneath, which was now it's top side. We all headed into the rear Humvee. Luckily it was in working order, or we would have been stranded in the night with those things. We made a quick drive across the bridge, only to find everyone had left already. Everything looked bombed out. As of this day, San Francisco was retaken by the KPA. So we did the only thing we could do. We were on the run from dangerous territory. Little did we know, things were about to get even worse.


	5. Show Of Compassion

One week. One long week. For one week we were on the run from the KPA. San Francisco was no longer ours. A few days before, we had finally caught up to some survivors. We thought they had also been left behind. But in truth, it was all there was. A sixth of the entire force. The fleet had gone God knows where, and we only had a few tanks, trucks, APC's and humvees. Barely enough if the KPA did catch up. And believe me, they were following. There were reports of a large force trailing behind us. No one dared to slow them down.

We were on our own. On the morning of the fourteenth day on the run we had made it to an abandoned farm and holed up there. Things couldn't possibly get worse...We just had to turn on the radio.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. One of the US soldiers in the house with us tuned up the radio.

"The United Kingdom has gone dark after a large EMP wave swept over it. What remains of the UN believe it to be the work of the Greater Korean Republic, who two years ago did the same in the United States. Chaos has ensued, and- Wait. This just in. A small naval force has hit the Australian Navy. It seems that they are now targeting members of the UN who may retaliate. A matter of urgency has been issued and will be addre-" The radio cut out into static. We all knew how.

"We need to get moving" a soldier suggested aloud before leaving the house. We could still hear them outside, shouting orders. "We're moving out! Pack up into your vehicles!" I stood there in shock. How quickly it had happened, it shocked everyone. The KPA had just went to war with the UN. We thought help would have come to save us. But that would not be coming. They had been caught by surprise. The world had been caught by surprise. I felt shocked. Which slowly turned to anger.

Though someone else was quick to anger before me.

"Fuck!" I heard Rianna kick over a chair. If Hopper had been here, he would have been muttering under his breath, but instead he remained in a truck. I couldn't bear to hear Rianna so angered. Nor hurt herself out of that anger. I turned and grabbed her by the shoulders firmly, holding her in front of me. I was surprised to see tears streaming from her eyes. This month had been hell for us.

"Rianna." She looked up at me. The sadness in those eyes. So much we'd both gone through, but she had been through much more. She had been fighting longer than I have against the invaders. "Listen. This month has not gone our way, not one bit. But we can't let that get to us. We have to hold it together. Okay?" She curtly nodded, now looking a bit embarrassed at having been seen crying. "Let's get going." We headed out to the trucks. Not prepared for what we would see.

* * *

Montrose. We had to come by here again one day. Smoke rose like lumpy pillars, reaching to the sky. We were at a safe enough distance not to be seen as our convoy drove across a dirt road. Hopper was lucky to be unconscious, and Rianna was asleep. I chose not to wake her. Seeing this, it would have pushed her over the edge. There was no telling how many of her friends down there were gone now.

 _What has become of this world we live_ , I couldn't help thinking to myself, shaking my head in dismay. _How many more must be lost?_ As a military pilot, I knew how war was. But this? It was almost genocide. In war I had never seen an oppressive government setting a town into flames.

I could only imagine the horror on the other's faces, the looks of sadness upon looking upon the urban environment that looked more like hell then Earth.

That whole memory of that day, I wish I had forgotten. But those fires would never disappear from my mind. And the same with Rianna, who I had not noticed peeking her eyes open.

* * *

We made another stop a few days later, just off the border to US territory. A small town, bombed out by constant warfare. It had been cleared and the KPA had moved on closer to the border. If we were in the next town over, we would have heard the constant shelling. But instead we would head north to a temporary hole in their lines. That was the plan. No doubt the KPA forces were still on our tail, reinforced by patrols met on their way and parts of garrisons.

We spread into a single block, separating into separate houses. Me, Hopper and Rianna along with one other on watch resided in a one story house. Two bedrooms, so plenty of beds to sleep in.

I let Hopper take the master bedroom with a queen size bed. He needed the space in case anyone needed to help him with his cut arm. Rianna had the smaller bedroom. It only had a twin size bed. But she deserved a bed anyway. I was fine with the couch in the same room as the watchman. I kept a M9 in hand, resting my head up on the armrest. I kept my eyes open, one hand on my chest while my armed hand hanged over the side.

And I almost drifted off to sleep. If it wasn't for a sobbing I heard. It was coming from down the hall to where the bedrooms were. And it couldn't have been Hopper. It sounded nothing like a male. Plus he doubted he would be sobbing, as he was unconscious from some recent blood loss after the wound opened up. That left only one possibility.

I swung my legs over the side of the couch and headed down the hall, leaving my handgun behind. The sobbing became more clear. I swear I could hear whoever it was trying to choke back the sobs. I came to the door, hesitant on whether I should go in or not. Rianna could be, at times, very emotional. And if she wanted to be alone, I would respect that. So instead I knocked.

"Rianna? You okay in there?" There was a pause in the sobs.

"Y-Yeah" she answered back.

"You sure? Do you want me to come in?" Another pause. I was unsure as to whether it was from hesitance or her wiping away tears.

"Yeah, sure. Come in." I slowly opened the door, peering my head in before taking a step through the doorway and into the room. I could see trails of wet tears still down her cheeks. She hadn't done too well to clean up her tears. But I did not address them.

"How are you holding up?" I asked her, sitting at the end of her bed. She sat up and crossed one leg over the other over the side of the bed, putting her hands on her top knee. She shrugged, keeping her gaze to the floor. "Rianna. I can see the tears." Her eyes widened a little in surprise, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment at being seen crying. I reached out to take her hand in comfort. She withdrew, shying away. This was not the Rianna I remembered in the short time we knew each other. "Rianna..."

"I'm fine, Jacobs. If all you want to do is have a pep talk, you can just leave."

I opened my mouth defiantly, only to clamp my jaw shut at her glare. She obviously wanted to be left alone, and I understood. I stood up to leave and headed to the door. I guess neither of us expected her to call me back when my hand was already on the door.

"Wait." I stopped, my hand still holding the door knob. Then released it. I turned around to find she made more space for me to sit. I went to sit down, keeping my eyes on her. "It's been hard. I've been fighting with Connor for...for some time. Almost since the start of all this...But first, the rockets falling on Montrose, everyone ded in the Oasis...Connor's death." Hearing those moments felt like drops of a hammer against my heart, piercing a nail through. "Fuck, it's all been hard. Everyone dying around us."

"Rianna. I know it's been hard. But you still have Hopper. And you've got me by your side. You should be our leader." She managed a smile, looking up at me. "We will take back Montrose." The smile stayed for only a small moment.

"What if I lose you both? Hopper's already lost part of him, physically. And we pulled you into this." I shook my head, reaching out again. This time she accepted my hand on hers. She glanced up at me, eyes meeting.

"You didn't. You saved my life. If you hadn't come, I would be in some camp. I would have ended up just like those bodies in those pits." The stink of dead corpses rushed back to my mind. Seeing all of those dead people, rotting in the mass graves. I still asked myself every night before I fell asleep, 'How could they do such a thing? How could they kill so many?'.

And my answer had still not come. Apparently, by Rianna's look alone she felt the same. I could see the anger and the fear in her eyes. She averted her eyes again, downcast at her feet. There was a long silence between us. Not a single word uttered. No noise outside either. The calm was odd, compared to what it was like in Montrose. And almost chilling.

"I still can't believe what we saw that night. The anger there, I still have it" she choked back a sob as she spoke. And glanced back up, a tear slowly forming in one of her eyes.

"Never leave me, Jacobs." I was about to answer. But we remained silent. Something odd drew us near. And then, the most unexpected. I never saw it coming, and neither did she. For what seemed to last forever, we shared a kiss.


End file.
